The once-popular skyscraper technique, which encouraged content creators to add more and more subsections and related topics to improve comprehensiveness and relevancy, is no longer as effective as it used to be. This is largely due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) overviews. Google’s large language model (LLM), Gemini, is now able to provide users with quick answers to many high-consensus questions. Additionally, Google is using user engagement signals to determine whether content is meeting searcher needs. This means that Google knows when someone clicks on a site, how long they spent there, and whether they clicked on other links or left immediately.
The traditional topic cluster model, which involved creating six pieces of content targeting the what, best, how, why, pros and cons, is becoming less relevant. This is because Google is now able to cannibalize much of this content through its AI overviews.
The problem with the traditional way of creating SEO content is that it often focuses on answering basic questions like “what is a marathon?” This can lead to high bounce rates, as users who are searching for “how to train for a marathon” may not be interested in a basic definition.
Instead of targeting broad keywords like “how to train for a marathon,” content creators should focus on more specific perspectives that users are likely to care about. For example, instead of a general “how to train for a marathon” article, you could create pieces targeting “What to consider before training for a marathon” or “Mistakes I made while starting a particular diet.”
By repackaging your existing content and focusing on more specific perspectives, you can create more engaging and click-worthy content that is more likely to meet the needs of searchers. To learn more about this topic and get additional insights, I recommend watching the Whiteboard Friday video by Bernard from Clearscope.